Hierarchical systems and methods for performing data storage operations

ABSTRACT

The invention is a hierarchical backup system. The interconnected network computing devices are put into groups of backup cells. A backup cell has a manager software agent responsible maintaining and initiating a backup regime for the network computing devices in the backup cell. The backups are directed to backup devices within the backup cell. Several backup cells can be defined. A manager software agent for a particular cell may be placed into contact with the manager software agent of another cell, by which information about the cells may be passed back and forth. Additionally, one of the software agents may be given administrative control over another software agent with which it is in communication.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.12/109,201, entitled “HIERARCHICAL SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR PERFORMINGDATA STORAGE OPERATIONS”, filed Apr. 24, 2008, which is a continuationof U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/354,058, entitled “HIERARCHICALBACKUP AND RETRIEVAL SYSTEM,” filed on Jul. 15, 1999, which are herebyincorporated herein by reference in their entireties.

This application is also related to U.S. patent application Ser. No.09/354,063, entitled “MODULAR BACKUP AND RETRIEVAL SYSTEM”, filed onJul. 15, 1999, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in itsentirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention is directed to storage and retrieval systems. Inparticular, the invention is directed towards a hierarchical storage andretrieval system for a computer or a series of interconnected computers.

2. Description of Related Art

Conventional backup devices usually employ a monolithic backup andretrieval system servicing a single server with attached storagedevices. These systems usually control all aspects of a data backup orretrieval, including timing the backup, directing the files to be backedup, directing the mode of the archival request, and directing thestorage are not scalable and often direct only one type of backup andretrieval system, whether it is a network backup or a single machinebackup.

If a backup software program failed for a particular computing device, achance exists that the information for the backup suite would also belost. Information about the activities of the backup program may becorrupted or lost. Additionally, without reinstallation, the backupprogram could not direct the backup of the particular computing device,and important information may not be backed up until there-establishment of the backup program on the computing device.

Further, with distributed computing devices, it is necessary tomicromanage each backup program on each computing device to maintainconsistency in the backup activities of all backup programs. No externalcontrol can be asserted over multiple backup programs from a centralizedlocation. Many other problems and disadvantages of the prior art willbecome apparent to one skilled in the art after comparing such prior artwith the present invention as described herein.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Various aspects of the present invention may be found in a backup systemfor a network computing system. The network computer system has a firstnetwork device and a second network device. The backup system has afirst software agent operating on a first network device on the networkcomputing system. The first software agent is communicatively coupled toat least one backup device. The first software agent maintainsoperational parameters for the backup regime for the network computersystem. The first software agent makes archival requests directed to thebackup device or devices to initiate archival requests, includingbackups and restores.

A second software agent, operating on the second network device,supervises the operation of the first software agent. The secondsoftware agent is able to initiate archival function requests to thebackup device or devices independent from the first software agent.Additionally, the second software agent may make an archival requestdirectly to the first software agent, which then initiates the actualrequest directed to the backup device. The backup system of claim 1wherein the first software agent is responsive to archival functionrequests from the second software agent. Or, the second software agentmay change the operational parameters of the first software agent, thusallowing the second software agent to set administrative control of thebackup of the network computing devices.

The first software agent communicates information on the status of thebackup device or devices that it is responsible for to the secondsoftware agent. The first software agent may also communicate the statusof the network computing devices that it is responsible for the backupof to the second software agent. This allows the second software agentto stand in for the first software agent when the first software agentis unable to perform at its full functionality. The second softwareagent is able to manage the backup of the network computing devices thatthe first software agent is responsible for when the first softwareagent is unable to do so.

In an exemplary embodiment, the network computer system has a firstgroup of network computing devices. A manager software component runs ona network device and is responsible for managing parameters describingthe archival characteristics of the first group of network devices, aswell as able to initiate archival requests for those network computingdevices.

The manager software component is communicatively coupled to at leastone, possibly more, backup devices that physically perform the archivalrequests at the behest of instructions from the manager softwarecomponent. A second software component supervises the manager softwarecomponent, and is able to initiate a change in the operationalparameters as described by the manager software component. Thus, thesecond software component may administer the characteristics of thebackup policy of the manager software component.

In one embodiment, the second software component executes on a secondnetwork device, or it may also execute on the network device on whichthe manager component is executing. In an embodiment, the secondsoftware component is itself a manager software component responsiblefor the backup policies of a second group of network devices.

Or, the manager software component can operate the backup activities ofa backup cell. Additionally, the second software component can operatethe backup activities of a second backup cell, as well as manage orsupervise the manager software component operating the first cell. Thus,a hierarchical structure in a backup system can be defined.

In another embodiment, the network computer system has a first group ofnetwork devices. The backup system has defined domains.

The first domain has a first manager software agent executing on a firstnetwork computing device. The first manager software agent isresponsible for managing backup activities for the first group ofnetwork devices. The backup activities are coordinated with a backupdevice or devices that are in communication with the first managersoftware agent. These backup devices respond to the archival requests ofthe first manager software agent to carry out a backup policy for thefirst group of network devices.

A second domain has a second software agent, which administers theactivities of the first manager software agent. The second softwareagent receives information on the first domain, and as such, the secondsoftware agent may operate the backup activities of the first domain.

The second software agent can manage a second group of network devicesin the second domain in a similar manner to the first manager softwareagent operating and managing the first domain. As such, many otherdomains can be defined, and may be placed in communication with otherdomains. The manager software agent of each domain may be responsiblefor administratively managing other domains, and may in turn be managedby manager software agents in other domains. Many different controlstructures can be built with this interconnectivity of domains.

The information on a domain may be passed to another manager softwareagent responsible for another domain. The parent manager software agentmay be able to pass instructions to the child domain and its managersoftware agent. As such, the parent manager software agent can operatethe domain, or may be able to administer the child manager softwareagent's management of the domain.

Further, the second manager software agent may execute on the samenetwork device as the first manager software agent. Alternatively, thesecond manager software agent may execute on a different network deviceas the first manager software agent.

Other aspects of the present invention will become apparent with furtherreference to the drawings and specification that follow.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a hierarchical network backup systemaccording to the invention.

FIG. 2 is functional block diagram of an embodiment of the hierarchicalbackup system of FIG. 1 embodying data transfer between the componentscomprising the individual backup cell and the transfer of data outsideof the backup cell.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram detailing the use of the manager component ofFIG. 1 as a virtual manager component for a plurality of virtual backupcells.

FIG. 4 is a logical block diagram of the resulting backup cells of thenetwork system depicted in FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of an exemplary hierarchical backup networkaccording to the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a hierarchical network backup systemaccording to the invention. A backup cell 100 comprises a plurality ofnetwork devices 110 (1), 120 (2), and 130 (3) that are to be backed up.The backups of the network devices are made to the attached backupdevices 112, 122, and 132.

The network computing device 110 (1) contains a first manager componentsuch as manager component 114. The first manager component 114 is asoftware agent responsible for maintaining backup parameters of thebackups in the backup cell 100, and initiating a backup policy for theattached network computing devices according to those parameters. Theparameters can include schedules of backups, aging policies, pruningpolicies, and backup media usage policies. Thus, through the operationof the first manager component 114, an administrator can define thecharacteristics of the backup actions for the network computing devicesassociated with the backup cell 100.

Connected to and in communication with the backup cell 100 is a backupcell 150, comprising a plurality of network devices 160 (4), 170 (5),and 180 (6). These network devices are also subject to backing up to thebackup devices 162, 172, and 182.

The network computing device 160 (4) contains a second manager componentsuch as manager component 164 that is responsible for the backupparameters of the backups in the backup cell 150. The second managercomponent 164 is similar in operation and in functionality to the firstmanager component 114 in the backup cell 100. Thus, through theoperation of the second manager component 164, an administrator candefine the characteristics of the backup actions for the backup cell100.

In the case where the network 140 connecting the network devices 110(1), 120 (2), and 130 (3) is not suitable based on speed and/orreliability, the size and scope of the backup cell 100 may be limited.Or, the site at which the backup cell 100 is physically located may nothave an administrator present with the background, ability, or authorityto modify the backup parameters of the backup cell 100. Or, having asingle point of failure, namely the network device 110 (1) or the firstmanager component 114 may not be an acceptable alternative to the userof the backup cell 100.

As such, the second manager component 164 of the backup cell 150 isplaced in communication with the backup cell 100. The second managercomponent 164 running on the network device 160 (4) is given theauthority, power, and ability to maintain and control the backupparameters and actions on the backup cell 100. Further, information onthe status of the network devices, the backup devices, and on the firstmanager component 114 is made known to the second manager component 164.Thus, the backup of the network devices 110 (1), 120 (2), and 130 (3)may be maintained and controlled from another software agent at anotherlocation, such as the second manager component 164. As such, alternativeadministration may be exercised on the backup characteristics andactions of the backup cell 100 from another backup cell.

Routine activities within the backup cell 100 can take place with littleor no interaction with the second remote manager component 164. Theseroutine activities include backups of and restorations to the networkdevices 110 (1), 120 (2), and 130 (3), and administration and/orconfiguration of the parameters of the archival functionality of thebackup cell 100.

Alternatively, interaction with the second remote manager component 164could take place when an administrator who is logged into the networkdevice 160 (4) would like to administer activity that takes place in thebackup cell 100. Or, splitting of administrative functionality betweenthe first and second manager components 114 and 164 could take place,thus centralizing some or all of the definition of the functionality ofthe backup schemes to a common set of parameters across associatedbackup cells. Or, the administrative authority of the manager componentsmay be highly decentralized, and the alternative control of anotherbackup cell may be used only when the manager component of anotherbackup has failed for some reason.

Information on the individual components making up the backup cell 100can be communicated to the second manager component 164. Thus, thesecond manager component 164 could, to varying degrees as defined byoperational needs, operate or initiate operation of the variouscomponents of the backup cell 100.

The second manager component 164 could also be configured to change theoperational parameters of the manager component 150. Thus, a system widechange to backup cell parameters can be initiated through a singlemanager component and propagated to other backup cells. Or, the secondmanager component 164 could fill in for the first manager component 114should it fail. Additionally, the interaction between the backup cellsand other manager components allows for the appearance of a “seamless”network of backup cells to administrators sitting in remote locations.

Additional supervisory levels, controls, or permissions could be addedto the second manager component 164 to allow the supervisory control ofadditional backup cells for which the first manager component 114 issupervising. As such, a hierarchy of backup control can be realizedthrough the interaction of levels or connections of manager components.

Additionally, the first and second manager components 114 and 164 can beconfigured such that critical events are propagated to another managercomponent having supervisory control or permission for it. Thus, anadministrator logged into a managerial component sitting in the path ofpropagation can see critical events happening in the backup cells in thepath of supervision. This criticality threshold for an event to bepropagated to another management component of another backup cell may beconfigurable. Thus, an individual manager component can track theuniverse of backup cells that it is communicatively coupled to.

It should be noted that while only one backup cell is pictured incommunication with the second manager component 164, that any number ofbackup cells may be envisioned. It should also be noted that thehierarchy of backup cells may be configured in many manners. Thus, asingle manager component may associate itself with several other backupcells, in a “shallow” configuration. Or, each succeeding managercomponent may be associated with one or more other backup cells,providing a tree-like structure to the supervisory capacities of themanager components. Or, a ring-like structure may be envisioned, whereeach manager component is associated with another backup cell, and thelast manager component is associated with the first backup cell.

Further details on structures of a backup cell may also be envisioned byreference to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/354,063, entitled“MODULAR BACKUP AND RETRIEVAL SYSTEM”, filed Jul. 15, 1999. Thisapplication is incorporated hereby by reference for all purposes. Thedetails of the backup cell as recited in the reference are substantiallysimilar to that outlined above, but are not detailed in thisapplication.

FIG. 2 is functional block diagram of an embodiment of the hierarchicalbackup system of FIG. 1 embodying data transfer between the componentscomprising the individual backup cell and the transfer of data outsideof the backup cell. The backup cell 200 comprises the network computingdevices 210 (1), 220 (2), and 230 (3). The network computing device 210(1) runs a first manager component such as first manager component 212,responsible for the backup parameters of the backup cell 200, asdescribed before.

The network computing devices 210 (1) and 230 (3) are communicativelycoupled to backup devices 218 and 238, respectively. The backup devices218 and 238 store the data and or files directed to them in a backup,where the data and/or files can be retrieved at a later time.

The backup devices 218 and 238 are operated by media components 216 and236, respectively. The media component 216 is a software agentresponsible for the physical operation of the backup device 218 during abackup or restore. During a backup, the media component 216 maintains anindex of the data units and/or files backed up and where they arephysically located on the physical backup device 218. The backup device238 and the media component 236 operate in a similar manner. It shouldbe noted that the backup devices may be many types of devices, includingsuch storage devices as tape drives, cartridge drives, magneto-opticaldrives, or any combination thereof.

The network computing devices 210 (1), 220 (2), and 230 (3) also containclient components 214, 224, and 234, respectively. The client components214, 224, and 234 are software agents tasked with maintaining theoperational parameters and controlling a backup or restore of anindividual network computing device. Thus, the types of files and/ordata backed up, the priority of the files and/or data to be backed up,and other operational parameters of a backup for a particular networkcomputing device are controlled by a particular client component.

In a backup, the first manager component 212 would indicate to theappropriate client component to initiate a backup, and that the backupshould be directed to a particular backup media. For example, assumethat the first manager component 212 determines that a backup of thenetwork device 220 (2) is warranted. The first manager component 212also determines that the backup should be directed to the backup device238. The first manager component 212 would contact the client component224 with the request for a backup of the network device 220 (2), andthat the data and/or files should be stored through the media component236 on the backup device 238.

The client component 224 undertakes the backup of the network computingdevice 220 (2) in an appropriate manner. The backup may be a fullbackup, an incremental backup, or a differential backup, depending uponthe strategy as defined by an administrator for the network computingdevice 220 (2). The client component 224 would then notify the mediacomponent 236 of the data and/or files to be backed up. The mediacomponent 236 would cause the data and/or files sent by the clientcomponent 224 to be physically backed up on the backup device 238.

The media component 236 makes an index entry for the backed up fileand/or data units, thus keeping an easily maintained and coordinated wayto manage information on the backup of the file and/or data units,including their whereabouts and other particulars. Portions of theindexed information on the file and/or data units are forwarded to thefirst manager component 212. The manager component may use thisinformation in the managing of the backup devices and the determinationof where to send other file and or data units from backups from othernetwork computing devices.

The first manager component 212 is able to receive and send this indexedinformation to the second manager component such as second managercomponent 262 running on the network computing device 260 (4).Additional indexed information on the backup can exist distributed aboutthe various media components, and the first or second manager components212 or 262 can access this information by querying the proper mediacomponent for it. Thus, the information required to make the properquery can be passed among the manager components as well. The secondmanager component 262 can itself be a manager component for the backupcell where it resides.

While a peer-to-peer relationship can be present among the managercomponents, the manager components can be configured in a parent-childrelationship as well. The first manager component 212 can be configuredto receive directions from the second manager component 262 regardingthe operation of the backup cell 200. Additionally, information on theclient components 214, 224, and 234 could be provided, as well asinformation on the media components 216 and 236, and on the backupdevices 218 and 238.

Should the second manager component 262 running on the network computingdevice 260 (4) be so configured, this information from the first managercomponent 212 could be propagated to the second manager component 262.Thus, complete operational control of the first manager component 212could be asserted from the second manager component 262 with the properauthorization.

Further, since the second manager component 262 has information aboutthe client components 214, 224, and 234, the information about the mediacomponents 216 and 236, as well as information about the media devices218 and 238, the second manager component 262 could operate as asurrogate manager component to the backup cell 200. As such, the firstmanager component 212 could be bypassed in the event of a failure of thefirst manager component 212.

Additionally, the second manager component 262 may be given asupervisory control over the first manager component 212. This wouldenable the second manager component 262 to change operationalparameters, administration, or configuration of the backup cell 200, orto allow a supervisor sitting at the network device 260 (4) to operatethe functionality of the backup cell 200 in the event of an emergency.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram detailing the use of the manager component ofFIG. 1 as a virtual manager component for a plurality of virtual backupcells. The backup cells 100 and 150 of FIG. 1 may be “virtual”, as wellas physical, backup cells. The virtual manager components can identifyadministrative domains over which the particular virtual managercomponent exercises administrative control.

In this case, one physical manager component such as first managercomponent 310 could be logically divided into several virtual managercomponents 320 (3), 330 (1), and 340 (2). Each of the virtual managercomponents 320 (3), 330 (1), and 340 (2) would be responsible for thebackup functionality of portions of the physical network devices locatedin the physical backup cell.

The first manager component 310 runs on a network computing device 312.Connected to and in communication with the network computing device 312are network computing devices 370 (3), 372 (4), 350 (1), 352 (2), 360(5), and 362 (6).

The network computing devices 370 (3) and 372 (4) are logically groupedtogether as a unit requiring one particular set of backup guidelines.Similarly, the network computing devices 350 (1) and 352 (2) arelogically grouped together as another group of network computing devicesrequiring another particular set of backup guidelines. Also, the networkcomputing devices 360 (5) and 362 (6) are logically grouped together asa unit requiring yet another particular set of backup guidelines.

The first manager component 310 can be configured to operate threeindependent backup management policies. The virtual manager component340 (2) is responsible for the backup management of the group of networkdevices 370 (3) and 372 (4). The virtual manager component 320 (3) isresponsible for the backup management of the group of network devices350 (1) and 352 (2). The virtual manager component 330 (1) isresponsible for the backup management of the group of network devices360 (5) and 362 (6).

A remote network computing device 380 operates a second managercomponent such as manager component 385. The second manager component385 is in communication with the first manager component 310. As such,the first manager component 310 can be configured to supervise theactivities of the manager component 310, and the virtual managercomponents 320 (3), 330 (1), and 340 (2).

FIG. 4 is a logical block diagram of the resulting backup cells of thenetwork system depicted in FIG. 3. The manager component 340 and thenetwork computing devices 370 (3) and 372 (4) make up a first virtualbackup cell 410. Similarly, the manager component 320 (3), along withthe network computing devices 350 (1) and 352 (2), make up a secondvirtual backup cell 420. Also, the manager component 330 (1) and thenetwork computing devices 360 (5) and 362 (6) make up a third virtualbackup cell 430.

Each virtual manager component is responsible and maintains thefunctional parameters associated with the group of network computingdevices associated with it. Each virtual manager component within thephysical first manager component 310 (depicted in FIG. 3) is able tomaintain and control the backup and restoration actions and parametersof the network devices associated with it in a manner independent fromthe other virtual manager components it is related to.

The virtual manager components may be configured where one of themanager components maintains supervisory control over the others, or anyother combination. Or, the remote second manager component 385 maymaintain supervisory control any of the virtual manager components 320(3), 330 (1), and 340 (2) and their associated backup cells. Or, asindicated earlier, any or all of the virtual manager components 320 (3),330 (1), and 340 (2) may be configured to supervise the second managercomponent 385 and its associated backup cell.

As such, the ability to link together similar network devices underdifferent manager components enables a backup system that easily definesdomains and sub-domains within an enterprise or organization. Thus, amanager component able to maintain supervisory control over others maybe easily maintained and identified in a linked network of virtual andphysical backup cells by name.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of an exemplary hierarchical backup networkaccording to the invention. Each bubble represents a physical backupcell, as described previously. The physical backup cells may containother virtual backup cells. The backup cells can be configurable by adomain name, which uniquely identifies the location and/or supervisoryoverview of the backup cell in the hierarchy.

As such, the root backup cell of the network of backup cells can bedefined as the domain name “Company”, or other identifier indicating theroot. In the naming convention, any manager component associated with aparticular name would exercise supervisory control over managercomponents having that name followed by a delimiter, and followed by asub-domain name. In this case, the manager component within a backupcell that is the root of a sub-tree would be able to exercisesupervisory or administrative control over the backup cells further fromthe root.

Thus, the manager component associated with the “Company” backup cellwould exercise supervisory control over the entire tree, including thesub-domains indicated by “Company.hq”, “Company.mktg”, “Company.eng”,and “Company.sales”. Additionally, the manager components under each ofthe sub-domains would exercise supervisory control over thesub-sub-domains identified with the proper sub-domain prefix.

As such, the domain “Company.hq” may be representative of anadministrative domain located at a company's headquarters andresponsible for backup actions and parameters about the physicalheadquarters. The managerial component associated with the domain“Company” can exercise supervisory control over the backup cellassociated with the domain “Company.hq”.

A backup cell 510 is a backup cell associated with the sales networkcomputing devices. The backup cell 510 contains two different domains,“Company.sales” and “Company.sales.usa”. The domain “Company.sales” isthe supervisory domain for the sub-domains existing underneath“Company.sales”. The domain “Company.sales.usa” is associated with abackup cell that manages the backups for network computing devices inthe company's United States sales area. The manager component directingthe backup cell “Company.sales.usa” is supervised by the managercomponent associated with the backup cell “Company.sales”

A backup cell 512 is associated with the network devices involved in thecompany's sales in Europe. The backup cell 512 is communicativelycoupled to the backup cell 510, and is given the domain name“Company.sales.eur”. As such, the manager component associated with thebackup cell 512 is under the supervisory control of the managercomponent associated with the domain “Company.sales”.

Correspondingly, the backup cell 514 is concerned with directing backupsof network computing devices involved in the Asian sales division. Thebackup cell 514 is communicatively coupled to the backup cell 510, andhas the domain name “Company.sales.asia”. Thus, the manager componentfor the backup cell 514 is under the supervisory control of the managercomponent associated with the domain name “Company.sales”.

One should note that in this example the manager components for thebackup cell 512 do not have supervisory control over the backup cell514, and vice versa. In any case, this is possible and can beimplemented.

The backup cell 520 contains several hierarchical portions. First, thedomain “Company.mktg” is contained in the backup cell 520. The managercomponent associated with the “Company.mktg” domain exercise supervisoryfunctions for backup cells residing under the “Company.mktg” domain.These other sub-domains are administered and configured from the managercomponent associated with the “Company.mktg” domain.

Additionally, the backup cell 520 contains the virtual backup cells“Company.mktg.ty” and “Company.mktg.print”, each associated with thebackup of network devices associated with the different departments inthe “Company.mktg” domain. Each domain has its own virtual managercomponent exercising control over its own particular administrativedomain, and being under the supervisory control of a manager componentrunning on the same backup cell 520.

A backup cell 530 contains a domain named “Company.eng”, responsible forsupervisory control of the backup schemes for the network devices in thecompany's engineering locations. The backup cell 530 also contains adomain “Company.eng.nj”. The manager component associated with thedomain “Company.eng.nj” is responsible for the configuration,administration, and direction of backups of network computing devicesfor engineering work located in the company's New Jersey locations.

Nested underneath the backup cell 530 are backup cells 532, 534, and536, having the domain names “Company.eng.ca”, “Company.eng.tx”, and“Company.eng jp”, respectively. Each of these backup cells isresponsible for the backup of network computing devices at a particularlocation, and is under the supervisory control of the manager componentassociated with the domain “Company.eng”.

Additionally, other backup cells 540 and 542 are nested beneath thedomain “Company.eng.ca”. The domains “Company.eng.ca.routers” and“Company.eng.ca.gateways” are associated with backup cells for networkcomputing devices associated with specific lines of engineering.

Thus, from the manager component associated with the domain “Company”,an administrator can configure, administer, or direct backup activitiesfor any of the nested backup cells below it in the “hq”, “sales”,“mktg”, or “eng” domains. Sufficient information on backups and eventsare replicated up from the lower lying backup cells in the tree to allowthe manager component associated with the “Company” domain to performthese supervisory duties. Further, any intervening manager components inthe path between a specific domain and the root may perform thesupervisory activities.

Thus, from any backup cell on a sub-tree, a manager component associatedwith that backup cell can supervise, configure, or administer the backupfunctionality of any backup cell in nested below it. For example, andadministrator at the “Company.eng” manager component would be able toconfigure all the backup cells in with the name “Company.eng.*”, where“*” stands for any sub-domain under the “Company.eng” domain.

Critical events or information regarding a physical backup in a backupcell, such as the information indexed by a media component as it backsup a file and/or data unit, are communicated towards the root. Forexample, assume that a particular network computing device operating inthe backup cell “Company.eng.ca.gateways” fails. If the event iscritical enough, news of the event would be replicated to“Company.eng.ca”, and from there to “Company.eng”, and ultimately to“Company”. Thus, actions at any of these backup cells may be asserted toaid the situation. Information regarding the backup process would alsobe replicated towards the root.

Usually, the events are replicated in an online fashion in real-time.Replication takes place, subject to criticality thresholds, all the wayto the root as long as the parent backup cell is reachable. If theparent is unreachable, the underlying backup cell needing to send theinformation on may periodically spawn a process to check on thereachability of the parent backup cell. If the parent backup cellresumes a reachable state, the message, along with others stored in aqueue, are passed upwards to the parent backup cell.

Or, the parent may request a “dump” of meta-data and critical eventsregarding the status of the system and its children at any time. Thisdump may be a one level dump, or may recursively act on all thesub-domains of the sub-domain. This meta-data could include theinformation regarding the backup event and indexed at the time ofbackup, information of all domains known to the child backup cell,backup devices and their associated media components in the backup cell,clients and their client components in the backup cell, applicationsrunning on the client network devices in the backup cell, relatedarchive files grouped into archive groups on the network devices in thebackup cell, sets of related media defining a media group in the backupcell, and all backup devices.

Thus, not only events may be passed upwards, but the state of eachbackup cell, both physical and virtual, may be passed upwardsaccordingly. This allows the parent manager component to act in place ofthe child should it be required to do so. Or, it allows true supervisorycontrol of the child backup cell, as well as the supervisory controlover any child backup cells of the child backup cell, and so on.

Additionally, due to the passage of this information, viewing,administering, configuring, and controlling the domains under aparticular domain is possible from a root domain. Further, the managercomponents associated with the sub-domains may be administered from theroot domain of the tree or any sub-tree within the main body of the treestructure. Thus, administration en masse is possible for an entireenterprise, division, location, or any other granularity as required. Inview of the above detailed description of the present invention andassociated drawings, other modifications and variations will now becomeapparent to those skilled in the art. It should also be apparent thatsuch other modifications and variations may be effected withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the present invention as setforth in this specification.

1. A hierarchical storage management system for storing data in anetwork environment, the storage management system comprising: aplurality of backup cells comprising a first plurality of physicalbackup cells and a second plurality of virtual backup cells; a firstmanager component comprising one or more computer processors associatedwith at least one network computing device of a plurality of networkcomputing devices, the first manager component configured to managebackup operations for at least one of the first plurality of physicalbackup cells; a second manager component associated with at least one ofthe second plurality of virtual backup cells, wherein the second managercomponent is configured to execute on at least one of the plurality ofnetwork computing devices and further configured to manage backupoperations for at least one of the second plurality of virtual backupcells; a media component configured to execute on at least one networkcomputing device of a plurality of network computing devices and beingcommunicatively coupled to at least one storage device to store data tothe at least one storage device; a client component configured toexecute on at least one of the plurality of network computing devicesand to obtain the data from at least one of the plurality of networkcomputing devices according to first parameters maintained by the clientcomponent, the client component being further configured to transmit thedata to the media component; wherein the second manager component isconfigured to direct the client component to obtain the data accordingto second parameters maintained by the second manager component and toperform backup operations on the plurality of virtual backup cells; andwherein the second manager is further controlled by the first managercomponent and performs backup operations on the plurality of virtualbackup cells in response to the first manager component.
 2. The storagemanagement system of claim 1 wherein the media component furthercomprises an index of the physical location of the data stored on the atleast one storage device.
 3. The storage management system of claim 2wherein the media component is configured to send at least a portion ofthe index to the second manager component.
 4. The storage managementsystem of claim 3 wherein the second manager component is configured tosend the portion of the index to the first manager component.
 5. Thestorage management system of claim 1 wherein the first manager componentis configured to maintain information regarding an operational status ofat least one of the second manager component, the at least one storagedevice, and the media component.
 6. The storage management system ofclaim 1 wherein the at least one other of the plurality of backup cellsfurther comprises: a second media component configured to execute on oneof the plurality of network computing devices and being communicativelycoupled to a second storage device to store second data to the secondstorage device; a second client component configured to execute on anetwork computing device of the plurality of network computing devicesand to obtain and transmit the second data to the second mediacomponent; and wherein at least one other of the plurality of physicalbackup cells is configured to be controlled by a third managercomponent.
 7. The system of claim 1, wherein the second parametersinclude at least one of a storage schedule, an aging policy and apruning policy.
 8. A method for performing a storage operation in ahierarchical storage management system, the method comprising:processing backup operations with a first management componentcomprising one or more computer processors, wherein the first managementcomponent is associated with at least a first backup cell of a firstplurality of physical backup cells; processing backup operations with asecond management component associated with at least a second virtualbackup cell of a second plurality of virtual backup cells, wherein thesecond management component is hierarchically coupled to the firstmanager component; instructing the second manager component with thefirst manager component to initiate the storage operation on the secondvirtual backup cell; obtaining the data from the first client devicewith a client component configured to execute on the first clientdevice; storing the data to a storage device according to parametersmaintained by the first manager component; updating an index maintainedby the media component, the index indicating a physical location of thedata stored on the storage device.
 9. The method of claim 8 additionallycomprising initiating the request to perform the storage operation basedat least on an aging policy.
 10. The method of claim 8 additionallycomprising alerting the first manager component with respect tooperation of the second virtual backup cell.
 11. The method of claim 8additionally comprising receiving with the first manager componentstatus information regarding the second manager component and a thirdmanager component of a third backup cell.
 12. The method of claim 11wherein said instructing the second manager component to initiate thestorage operation further comprises selecting the second managercomponent based on an availability of the second manager component andthe third manager component.
 13. The method of claim 8 furthercomprising maintaining an index of the physical location of the datastored on the at least one storage device.
 14. The method of claim 13further comprising sending at least a portion of the index to the secondmanager component.
 15. The method of claim 14 further comprising sendingthe portion of the index to the first manager component.
 16. The methodof claim 8, further comprising maintaining information regarding anoperational status of at least one of the second manager component, theat least one storage device, and the media component.
 17. The method ofclaim 8, wherein the parameters include at least one of a storageschedule, an aging policy and a pruning policy.